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Early retirement

Information

Early retirement usually means retirement before the age of 65.

Early retirement may happen because you have to retire from your job at a
certain age, because you choose to take early retirement or because you have
been let go. Sometimes people who are described as taking early retirement have
actually been made redundant. Others who have been obliged to take early
retirement may regard themselves as unemployed
and there are special
provisions for older jobseekers.

This document outlines your entitlements to social welfare benefits if you
retire early and what arrangements you should make to keep your entitlement to
a state pension.

If you are made redundant, you may get a statutory redundancy lump sum. If
you retire early, for whatever reason, you may be entitled to Jobseeker's
Benefit and later to Jobseeker's Allowance. You may also be eligible for a
range of back to work and back to education schemes.

If you do retire early you should organise to continue your PRSI
contributions so that your entitlement to an State Pension (Contributory) is
maintained (see 'Credits' below).

Rules

If you are made redundant

If you are made redundant, you may qualify for a statutory redundancy lump
sum payment. The statutory (that means laid down by law) lump sum is the
minimum sum that you must get. A higher payment may of course be negotiated
with your employer, either by you or by your union. You can get more
information about redundancy
on our website.

If you are unemployed

Whether you consider yourself to be retired or unemployed, you may be
eligible for Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) if you are aged under 66. You may then be
eligible for Jobseeker's Allowance (JA).

If you are claiming JA or JB and you are 62 or over you are not required to
engage with the activation process
and you will not be subject to penalty rates for non-engagement. Note that to
qualify for either Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance you must be genuinely
seeking work and be available for full-time employment and these conditions
will continue to apply to older jobseekers. You can voluntarily avail of a
range of supports (for example, training or employment support programmes) from
the Department of Social Protection. Read more in our document on older
jobseekers.

Jobseeker's Benefit (JB)

To qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit
(JB), you must, among other things, be unemployed, aged under 66, capable
of work, available for work and genuinely seeking work.

If you have left work voluntarily, for example, if you have chosen early
retirement, you may not get JB for 9 weeks after leaving work. After that, you
may have a problem proving that you are available for and genuinely seeking
work.

If you are aged under 55 and you have received a redundancy payment of more
than €50,000, you may be disqualified from JB for 9 weeks.

You can do a certain amount of work and continue to get some Jobseeker's
Benefit. You should check with the Department of Social Protection before
taking up work to see exactly what the effect will be.

As a general rule, JB is payable for either 9 months or 6 months. However,
if you are aged between 65 and 66 when your JB would normally end, you may
continue to receive it until the age of 66, provided you meet the PRSI
requirements.

Jobseeker's Allowance (JA)

If you have used up your entitlement to JB or you are not entitled to JB
because you do not have enough PRSI contributions, you can apply for Jobseeker's
Allowance (JA) if you are under 66. You must, among other things, be
unemployed, be capable of, available for and actively seeking work and pass a
means test.

In general, if you have a reasonable level of pension from a former
employer, you are unlikely to qualify for JA.

Back to education

Safeguarding your entitlements

If you retire early and do nothing, you will have a number of years during
which you have no PRSI contributions. This will mean that you may have
difficulty in qualifying for the State Pension (Contributory) .

If you are not employed or self-employed, you do not have to pay PRSI
contributions. You can keep your PRSI contribution record up to date either by
getting credits or paying voluntary PRSI contributions.

Credits

You get social
insurance credits while getting Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's
Allowance. So, if you are getting one of these benefits up to age 65 or 66, you
do not need to do anything else to maintain your social insurance record.

If you do not qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance because you do not pass the
means test, you can sign on for credits. Usually, you are allowed sign on once
a month.

If you do not qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance
because you are considered to be unavailable for work, you may not be able to
sign on for credits either. If this is the case or if, for example, you want to
spend all or part of your retirement abroad, you can become a voluntary
contributor to social insurance. You should apply to the Department of Social
Protection to become a
voluntary contributor within a year of retirement.

Language

Related Documents

Retiring from workFor many people the prospect of retirement from work gives an opportunity to seek fresh directions and new challenges. What you should know about retiring from work.

Working in retirementThe effects of working in retirement on social welfare benefits, entitlement to pensions and employee protective legislation

Jobseeker's BenefitThis is a weekly payment to people who have lost their job and are covered by social insurance.

Contact Us

If you have a question relating to this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm) or you can visit your local Citizens Information Centre.